New Species in Antarctica

General Knowledge | 7-14 yrs | Interactive

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List of 5 Marine Species found in Antarctica

There are 2,14, 921 marine species on earth found by scientists. The count doesn’t end here. The secrets of the deep blue oceans keep unraveling new information. A recent expedition to the Amundsen Sea in Antarctica, added 30 new marine species, found under the freezing water. Scientists say that these species were difficult to find as they were highly mobile as compared to the existing ones. Let us take a look at some of the intriguing ones.

New Sea Snail or limpet

This newly found sea snail was discovered by scientists while it was feeding on the beak of a dead octopus. Scientists found that this snail belongs to the family of a group of marine creatures that specialize in feeding off from the decayed bodies of creatures like squids and octopi.

Young King Crab

Scientists thought that the King crabs may have left Antarctica some 40 million years ago to escape the cold Antarctic ocean. But the recent discovery of a young King crab, found at a depth of 1000 meters in the Amundsen Sea has taken them by surprise.

Orange Octopus

Sounds strange isn’t it? Scientists had previously discovered many species of Octopi in the Amundsen sea but they were all pale in color. This new species of Octopus, belonging to the Pareledone turqueti family, adds a little colour to the ocean.

Bristle Heart Urchin

Found for the very first time in Antarctica is the common heart urchin, discovered at a depth of 500 metres.. They were usually not found in freezing sea water.

Stalked Crinoid

This is a very rare form of sea lilies. This new species is a new addition to the 600 existing species of Crinoids beneath the oceans. These were found more than 1600 meters deep in the Amundsen sea.